Housing Forecast Series Speakers
Economic Overview
Elliott Pollack, CEO, Elliott D. Pollack & Co
Elliott D. Pollack is Chief Executive Officer of Elliott D. Pollack and Company in Scottsdale, Arizona, an economic and real estate consulting firm established in 1987, which provides a broad range of services, specializing in Arizona economics and real estate.
The firm maintains the most comprehensive economic database in Arizona, allowing it to accurately conduct economic forecasting, develop economic impact studies and prepare demographic analyses and forecasts.
Elliott D. Pollack and Company currently serves as the economics department for Maricopa County. As well, the firm serves a broad client base of both public and private sector entities that range from law firms and real estate developers to school districts and utility companies.
Mr. Pollack has syndicated and master planned numerous properties in Arizona through affiliated companies. He is recognized for his expertise in discerning the relationship between real estate trends and land value, usage and timing for improvements and development.
For Sale Housing: A View from the Top
Moderator: TBD
Steve Hilton, Chairman & CEO, Meritage Homes Corporation
Steve Hilton is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Meritage Homes, a leading designer and builder of single-family homes across the southern and western United States. 2010 marked the 25th Anniversary of Meritage Homes Corporation, and the company has delivered more than 70,000 homes since it was founded. Meritage is the 9th largest public homebuilder in the U.S. based on homes closed.
Hilton, 50, co-founded Meritage's predecessor company (Monterey Homes) in Scottsdale, Ariz. in 1985. The company has been publicly traded on the NYSE since 1996, and in 1997, Steve laid a foundation for growth through the combination with Legacy Homes of Texas. Shortly thereafter, the company adopted the name Meritage Homes and today operates under this brand in approximately 150 communities within seven states.
As CEO, Mr. Hilton successfully led the company through 19 consecutive years of growth from 1987 to 2006, achieving among the highest financial returns in the industry. During the last several years, Meritage has increased its market share by successfully focusing on first-time and first move-up buyers, with quality homes that offer distinctive styling and superior value. Meritage is a leader in energy-efficient homebuilding, and was the first national homebuilder to be fully ENERGY STAR qualified in 100 percent of its homes as of 2010. In 2011 Meritage won the Environmental Protection Agency's prestigious ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for homes.
Mr. Hilton earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and real estate from the University of Arizona and has been honored as an Entrepreneurial Fellow by the University's Eller College of Management.
Mr. Hilton also serves as a director on the board of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL), and Banner Alzheimer's Foundation. He has been actively involved with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale and the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center. He also is a director of the Leading Builders of America and chairs the Energy Working Group for the Association.
Carl Mulac, President, Avatar Properties and Executive Vice President of Avatar Holdings
Carl Mulac has been involved with the sale and construction of over 20,000 new homes during his lengthy career. He is currently Executive Vice President of Avatar Holdings and President of Avatar Properties, a company traded on NASDQ (AVTR). After working with three major national home builders during his career, in 2008 he launched Joseph Carl Homes in the Phoenix metro area, which built both active adult and traditional neighborhoods in the Phoenix metropolitan area. As a start-up company in a challenged real estate market, Mulac created a very lean operational structure that led to industry attention and ultimately a purchase interest by Avatar in 2010. The two entities combined business operations, with Mulac at the operational helm.
His entry into the home building industry began after his 1983 graduation from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, PA, with a B.S. in Business Administration. His first job was with Ryan Homes and allowed him to learn various facets of the business from working as a sales associate to a construction superintendent
In 1988, Carl became a Production Manager for UDC Homes in Charlotte, NC. That same year he was promoted to Division Manager for both the Charlotte and Myrtle Beach divisions. In 1990, Carl transferred to Phoenix as UDC’s General Manager for the Active Adult Westbrook Villages and then Division Manager of the North Scottsdale division. Carl became the Phoenix Division President for Standard Pacific in 1998 where he took them from 700 closings per year to 1500.
In early 2003, Carl accepted the role of Division President for the Engle Homes Phoenix division of Technical Olympic USA. He had tremendous success growing the success of that division of the company and was promoted to group president with responsibility for Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas markets.
Mulac has served for over ten years on Home Builders Association of Central Arizona board, is an honorary life director and is currently serving his second term as Chairman of the Board.
Jeff Roos, Regional President West Region, Lennar
Charlie Enochs, President, Taylor Morrison
Charlie Enochs has been in the homebuilding industry for 20 years. He has worked for several national homebuilders including Del Webb, Coventry Homes, Toll Brothers, Pulte Homes and Taylor Morrison. He has been the division president of Taylor Morrison's Arizona division for the past 4 years. He is also on the board of the Home Builders of Central Arizona.
Multi-Family Housing: Apartment Developers and Managers
Moderator: Sean Cunningham, Vice Chairman, Major Accounts Group CBRE
Sean Cunningham joined CBRE in 1980, and is a Vice Chairman. Mr. Cunningham’s tenure with CBRE includes his present position recognized nationally as specializing in multi-housing sales. Mr. Cunningham was the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the CBRE Phoenix office from 1993 through 1998. In this role, Mr. Cunningham was responsible for the direct management of 80 sales professionals and 130 support personal. Mr. Cunningham is one of the nation’s leading portfolio disposition specialists within CBRE’s Multi-housing Group. The Anderson-Cunningham Team is one of the top revenue producing teams within CBRE Multi-housing Group nationally, closing nearly 200,000 units with a total value of over $14 billion.
CREDENTIALS
CBRE Major Accounts Group
National Multi-housing Council Board of Directors
Arizona Multi-housing Association
Phoenix Thunderbirds
Childhelp USA Board Member
Alexis De Tocqueville Society
EDUCATION
Northern Arizona University | Bachelor of Arts BS Business Management
Larry Scott, Vice President - Western Region, Fairfield Residential
Larry oversees the company’s multifamily development activities throughout the western United States. Larry has 25 years in the residential investment industry, including extensive development, acquisition, and asset management experience of multifamily rental and for-sale communities. Prior to joining Fairfield Residential in 2011, he was managing director of Urban Housing Group (a subsidiary of The Marcus & Millichap Company) overseeing development. Previously, he was a senior vice president for AvalonBay Communities Inc., where he led the company’s residential development efforts throughout six counties in southern California. There he was responsible for entitling, developing, and building over 2,400 apartment homes. Larry has also held senior officer positions for both public and private apartment companies where he was involved in developing and acquiring over 10,000 multifamily units. Larry received his BA in accounting from California State University, Fullerton. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and a licensed California real estate broker. His professional affiliations include the Urban Land Institute and the National Multi-Housing Council.
Ziv Cohen, Chief Operating Officer, Resmark Apartment Living
Mr. Cohen joined Resmark in 2001. With more than 19 years of real estate experience, he has been involved in the financing and development of over 10,000 residential units in the United States and Israel. Mr. Cohen's current responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations and strategy for Resmark Apartment Living. Previously, Mr. Cohen established the firm's Northern California Division in 2003 and successfully expanded its California operations. He also led Resmark's emergence as a key player in the area of direct investments in land and housing in 2007.
Prior to joining Resmark, Mr. Cohen was a member of Fieldstone Communities' management team, where he was responsible for land acquisition and entitlements, product design, construction management, and sales and marketing operations for multiple projects. Before arriving in the United States, he served as an operations manager for Peled Residential Construction in Israel and prior to that as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Tel Aviv University and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.
R. Chapin Bell, President, P.B. Bell & Associates
R. Chapin Bell, President of P.B. Bell, oversees all company-wide personnel, accounting, financial analysis and support functions. Mr. Bell is also responsible for overseeing all development and acquisition activities, equity capital raising and financing for the organization. To date, P.B. Bell has participated in the development of nearly 3,000 multifamily units.
Prior to joining P.B. Bell in 1993, Chapin was a commercial lending officer and Vice President of National City Bank, a major regional financial institution headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Chapin is currently an active board member of the Arizona Multihousing Association. His roles at the AMA have included: Chairman of the Board , Secretary of the Board, Finance Committee Chairman, Government Affairs Committee Chairman, AMAPAC Chairman, Education and Trade Show Committee Chairman, and Co-Chairman of the Big Hands for Little Hearts committee. Chapin received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. Chapin has worked with the Boy Scouts of America, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the United Way Agency. At this time, he is a Board of Directors member for UMOM New Day Center, a transitional/emergency shelter for homeless families and on the Board of Directors for the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council.
Edward Ratinoff, Managing Director - Head of National Acquisitions, Phoenix Realty Group
Ed Ratinoff manages the firm’s acquisitions efforts nationwide, targeting investments in urban residential and commercial properties. Mr. Ratinoff is responsible for origination, underwriting, due diligence and closing of investments for PRG’s Urban Private Equity Funds focused on the greater New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.
Prior to joining PRG, Mr. Ratinoff spent five years as Managing Director with J.E. Robert Companies/JER Partners, a global real estate investment firm with more than $5 billion of institutional capital under management, where he was a member of the Investment Committees for US Fund Management and JER Investors Trust (NYSE: JRT). He served as the head of JER’s Multi-Family Group, led the national direct lending effort for a publicly traded mortgage REIT, and oversaw the firm’s West Coast office in Los Angeles. While at JER, Mr. Ratinoff executed transactions representing $750 million in gross asset value across the United States.
Prior to JER, Mr. Ratinoff was a principal with Fowler Flanagan Partners, where he was responsible for the acquisition, financing, development and redevelopment of more than $250 million of multifamily and commercial real estate annually, and participated in the asset management of the associated real estate portfolio. Previously, he held real estate investment banking positions with Keybanc/McDonald Investments, Chase Securities and BT Alex Brown, and was a development manager for Paragon Group, a Northern California-based multifamily and commercial developer.
Mr. Ratinoff earned his Masters of Business Administration from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from University of California, Berkeley.
Land Development
Moderator: Nate Nathan, President, Nathan & Associates, Inc.
After graduating from Arizona State University in 1976, Nate began his career at Tom Fannin Realty, where he worked as an associate until founding Nathan & Associates, Inc. in December of 1980. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Nate lives in Paradise Valley with his wife and two sons. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves on the ULI Community Development Council (Gold Flight). Nate is also a member of Lambda Alpha International, the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, Valley Partnership and several other organizations.
Mark Schlossberg, Managing Partner, Southwest Value Partners
Mr. Mark Schlossberg has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of SVP since its inception and has been instrumental in sourcing and closing the firm's real estate asset acquisitions, financings and dispositions. In concert with the firm's investment committee, he oversees SVP's investment policy, and the firm's negotiation, acquisition, management, value creation, and disposition functions. Prior to joining SVP, he practiced as a Certified Public Accountant with an emphasis in real estate.
Mr. Schlossberg has served as a founding member of the Board of Directors of Torrey Pines Bank, and also sits on the Board of Directors of SynCardia Systems, Inc. He has previously served on the Board of Trustees and associated committees of various charitable organizations.
Craig Krumwiede, President and Director, Harvard Investments
Craig Krumwiede is the President of Harvard Investments, a Scottsdale based real estate development firm which specializes in diverse master planned residential communities. President since 1994, Mr. Krumwiede leads the company’s development and investment activities and is responsible for the implementation of the general investment strategy for the company. Harvard is the U.S. development and investment arm of The Hill Companies, a privately held company founded in 1903.
Mr. Krumwiede actively oversees the acquisition, development and sale of the company’s real estate holdings in Arizona and Texas. Harvard’s product ranges from exclusive golf course communities to projects centered around single family production housing. Harvard’s expertise includes a thorough approach to conceptualizing, designing, creating and developing each individual community with specific attention to the surrounding area needs and with respect for the environment. Over the years Mr. Krumwiede has developed solid working relationships with other developers, landowners, partners, home builder, engineers, brokers, national banks and lending institutions, politicians and lawyers.
Talking Rock Ranch, a 3,600 acre private, master-planned golf course community located in Prescott, Arizona, and a Harvard signature development, has received numerous accolades, including being recognized as the Detached Residential Project of the Year in 2008. It is consistently ranked among the top 25 courses in Arizona by Gold Digest and Golf Week.
Mr. Krumwiede holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Juris Doctor degree from Arizona State University. After graduation he joined Deloitte & Touche as a tax specialist. He is a board member and Past President of the ASU Council for Design Excellence and a member of the Dean’ s Council of 100 for the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. He was is involved in the inception of the Master in Real Estate Development program at ASU and acts as a mentor to many of those students.
Mr. Krumwiede is a Respondent to the Federal Reserve Beige Book. He is also a founding member of Social Venture Partners Arizona, which funds and provides expertise to innovative non-profit organizations and creates educated philanthropists.
John Graham, President and CEO, Sunbelt Holdings
John Graham joined Sunbelt Holdings in 1982 and became President in 1990. John’s background in asset management, development and real estate investment provides a solid foundation of knowledge and experience in the real estate field. Under John’s direction Sunbelt has become a dominant force, in both community affairs and real estate activities.
EXPERIENCE
The Koll Company
Asset Management and Development
Phoenix, Arizona 1980 - 1982
Coldwell Banker
Asset Management and Sales
Phoenix, Arizona 1978 - 1980
EDUCATION
Stanford University AB Economics 1979
Brophy College Preparatory 1975
Capital Markets
Jeff Meyers, Principal, Meyers LLC
As a Principal of Meyers LLC, Mr. Meyers brings over 20 years experience in which time he founded, built, and sold the largest market research company serving the US Homebuilding Industry, The Meyers Group. At its height, The Meyers Group grew to 21 offices and over 200 employees nationwide. After selling The Meyers Group to Hanley Wood in June 2004, he founded Meyers LLC focusing specifically on consulting.
Jeff specializes in on-going advisory services and manages all consulting assignments for several top ten public home builders through his direct involvement with land acquisition strategies, product development, segmentation, and positioning. Highly regarded as an industry expert for real estate trends and issues, Mr. Meyers is quoted frequently in several national publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. His recent speaking engagements include the National Association of Home Builders Council, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, the Southern California Building Industry Association, and the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Meyers is highly accomplished and regarded as the leading expert on residential trends in the real estate market.
Peter Fioretti, Chairman and CEO, Mountain Real Estate Group
Peter Fioretti is the Founder and CEO of Mountain Real Estate Group, a national real estate investment and asset management firm. Peter oversees the firm’s investments in land development and home-building joint ventures, bank NPL portfolios, project and company recapitalizations, and direct property acquisitions. The firm also specializes in asset management for Bank NPL/REO portfolios, broken condo projects, and residential land and development.
In 2009 Mountain acquired the GMAC/RFC REO asset management platform. Since then, Peter has managed the firm’s equity investments to acquire approximately 10,000 lots, 9,000 acres, four bank portfolios, and residential projects with projected sales over $1billion. The firm has also overseen third party asset management services of over $2 billion of land and 1 million sf of commercial property.
Prior to Mountain Real Estate Group, Mr. Fioretti was the founding partner of Waterfront Invest, an owner of multi-family, residential, and commercial development properties. Mr. Fioretti received the 1988 New Jersey SBA’s Businessman of the Year Award, and 1989 “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine and Arthur Young. He was also a founding Director of Metropolitan State Bank, where he served on the Executive Committee. Peter graduated from Lehigh University and has served on Lehigh’s Board of Trustees and Alumni Board of Directors. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builders and Urban Land Institute.
Theodore Karatz, Vice President, GTIS Partners LP
Theodore Karatz is a Vice President at GTIS Partners LP and is responsible for analyzing investment opportunities and new business development. Prior to joining GTIS, Mr. Karatz was a land advisor at O'Donnell/Atkins in Los Angeles, CA where his responsibilities included residential land brokerage and advisement throughout Southern California. Prior to O'Donnell/Atkins, Mr. Karatz was an Acquisitions Associate for KB Home where he was responsible for sourcing, analyzing and negotiating the purchase of residential land for development. Mr. Karatz received a Masters of Real Estate Development from the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Communication and Business from the University of Southern California.
Since September 2009, GTIS has committed $220 million of equity to the U.S. residential sector; acquiring approximately 20,000 residential lots in select markets including Florida, Virginia, Texas, Chicago, Phoenix and Southern and Northern California. These investment strategies include land development and homebuilding, in markets with near term execution and favorable supply and demand metrics, as well as, longer term execution in dynamic markets poised for recovery.
GTIS Partners is a global real estate investment firm headquartered in New York with an office in São Paulo. GTIS Partners has 45 employees and manages approximately $1.8 billion of committed equity. The firm pursues value-added real estate opportunities through direct equity investment and non-traditional lending activities. To date, the firm has committed capital to residential, retail, industrial, office, hotel, and mixed-use projects in the U.S. and Brazil, and is among the largest real estate private equity companies in Brazil. The firm’s principals have over 90 years of investment, management, and operations experience, which spans all major property types and geographies. By combining hands-on real estate expertise with a disciplined investment approach, GTIS Partners creates value for its investors and partners. For further information please visit our website at http://www.gtispartners.com.
Kev Zoryan, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Merchant Banking Group
Mr. Zoryan’s focus is on acquisitions and asset management for the firm’s various private equity real estate funds. He is a member of the Executive Council of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and a member of the ULI Los Angeles Executive Committee. In addition, he has been involved in the privatization of William Lyon Homes and of the $1.8 billion real estate investment company Glenborough. He also assisted Morgan Stanley in its $525 million acquisition of more than 11,000 residential lots from Lennar in late 2007.
Marcus L. Scroggins, Managing Principal, Westbrook Partners
Marcus L. Scroggins is a Managing Principal with Westbrook Partners where he is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s residential investment program. Prior to joining Westbrook, Mr. Scroggins was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockpoint Finance, a private investment fund sponsored by Rockpoint Group which focused on providing structured finance solutions to real estate owners and operators, with a focus on the housing sector. Prior to the formation of Rockpoint Finance in 2006, Mr. Scroggins was a Managing Principal of Rockpoint Group. Previously, Mr. Scroggins was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Terrabrook, a national land development company which operated in 26 different markets across the U.S with a focus on large scale master-planned communities in large metropolitan areas as well as golf oriented second home communities in destination locations. Prior to joining Terrabrook, Mr. Scroggins spent 11 years with Ernst & Young in their real estate accounting and consulting practices.
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